Building A Buzz: A Jestorian In New Orleans (DDS:PB)

[Izulde]

The 7 Jestorian Principles Of Basketball GM'ing

1. Always have a pass-first PG running the offense.
2. Whenever possible, have two pass-first PGs.
3. No matter what, always have at least one 1st round pick in a draft.
4. Finesse centers are the worst thing to have on a basketball court.
5. A title can not be won without at least one scoring superstar.
6. Size matters in the backcourt. A 6'7 or 6'8 SG is a gamechanger.
7. Never be afraid to make a trade.

So there you have it, the 7 Principles the famed GM Jestor lives by.

Hi. I'm Izulde, a disciple of Jestor's. I'm here with the Washington Wizards.

It's 2007 and I plan to mold the Wizards into an extreme version of Jestor's philosophy. To do this, I need to translate these principles into rules.

OOC House Rules
1. The starting PG must have 70 passing/70 handling minimum. If he ever drops below that, he has to be moved to backup and a new starter found.
1a. The backup PG must have 65 passing/65 handling minimum.
2. At least one starter must have 75 scoring. If there isn't one, a trade, drafting or FA signing must be done to get one, unless it violates Rule #3.
3. The team must always have at least one first round pick in a draft.
4. The starting C must have Post as his strongest shot tendency by a large margin.
5. 6'7 is the minimum height for the starting SG.
6. There must be at least one trade made per season.

Hi, there. It's me, Izulde. The thing with Washington was just a practice session. The real job I've landed is here in the Big Easy, hoping to build the Hornets into a championship team.

But it won't be easy. Chris Paul, the young superstar of this team, -just- misses the 70/70 requirement (79/69) by our scouts, so he has to go. Similiarly, Peja Stojakovic falls just short of the scoring minimum for our top star, so we've major changes ahead of us. Worse yet, Tyson Chandler likes to take too many jumpers to fit.

As if that wasn't bad enough, Gerald Shipp, the owner, wants us in the playoffs in the brutal West conference and to be no more than $15 million over the cap while we do it. And even that's pushing it.

We also discussed Jestor's book Big Guards and Bangin' Centers: Crafting a Basketball Championship, which I pulled the principles from. He said he agreed with Jestor's theories as a whole, but added the following stipulations for me to follow:

Other OOC House Rules
1. An exception to the 75 scoring minimum rule can be made if an otherwise qualifying player has been with the team at least 5 years as a starter and made at least 2 All-Star games or an All-NBA Team in those 5 years (the Mateen Yeaton Exception)
2. Any player signed during free agency can NOT be traded until 60 days have passed in the NBA season to ensure that players will continue wanting to play for the team and to maintain stability and continuity on court

I'm grateful for the exception, but that second rule really puts a cramp in my style. Still, I've got to go with it.

New Orleans Hornets receive
SG Mike Miller

[b]Memphis Grizzlies receive/b]
PF David West
New Orleans Hornets 2008 2nd round pick

What this means for the Hornets
Miller's a sensational scorer and an underrated defender. 27 years old and 6'8, he'll pair with Peja Stojakovic to give New Orleans a deadly 1-2 punch at swingman over the next few seasons. The shift also paves the way for raw second year man Cedric Simmons to slide in as starting PF.

What this means for the Grizzlies
West has good all-around skills in scoring, rebounding and defending, but he's neither disciplined nor all that smart and although his contract goes from $10 million on down to $7.5 million in the fifth season, that's still a lot of money to tie up into a player who probably won't bring nearly that much value to the team.

Winner: New Orleans
Izulde makes a nice move in his first trade in New Orleans and the Hornets will be significantly improved by it.

Oh, but we aren't done yet. The problem is, we may be stuck with Tyson Chandler. He's got no skills to speak of other than rebounding and is on a long, irritating contract that no one will take.

New Orleans Hornets receive
C Andrew Bynum
PG Sasha Vujacic
Los Angeles Lakers 2008 2nd round pick
Los Angeles Lakers 2009 2nd round pick

Los Angeles Lakers receive
PG Chris Paul

What this means for the Hornets
Bynum's extremely raw, but he could develop into a solid all-around center someday. He'll fight it out with Tyson Chandler for the starting C spot this season. Vujacic might eventually develop into an excellent pass-first PG, but he's not there yet.

What this means for the Lakers
Paul's an electrifying package. He can pass, score and steal and he's even better thanks to terrific discipline and intelligence. He'll form the NBA's deadliest backcourt for years to come with Kobe Bryant and all the Lakers had to do was give up a couple second rounders and some raw prospects, none of whom are A-list.

Winner: Lakers
The Purple and Gold just took the Hornets to the woodshed here as New Orleans gives up their most valuable asset for a pair of maybes.

We have trouble in that it appears our fun-loving head coach doesn't want to start Andrew Bynum. It makes sense, since Byron Scott can't develop players worth anything.

I immediately fire him and name myself head coach, which all the papers call "the typical brassy move one expects of a Jestor protege." Yeah right. As much as I admire Jestor, he never would have had the stones to make himself head coach.

I quickly institute a new starting lineup more to my liking. PG has yet to be determined, but right now we're looking at SG Miller/SF Peja/PF Hilton Armstrong/C Bynum. Not sure if I see it changing from that, but we also don't have a 75 scorer. Hopefully that'll change once training camp rolls around.

We're taking 12th in the draft and the mocks have us going for Yi Jianlian from China. I do like my 7 footers, that's for sure, but PG is what we need.

2007 NBA Draft 1st Round
1. C Greg Oden - Toronto Raptors
2. SF Kevin Durant - New York Knicks
3. SG Brad Newley - Charlotte Bobcats
4. C Spencer Hawes - Portland Trailblazers
5. PG Acie Law - Atlanta Hawks

Damn. Law is not a top 5 pick by any stretch of the imagination. I'm worried now that our guy goes off the board, but I don't have the pieces to move up.

6. SF Corey Brewer - Minnesota Timberwolves
7. PF Yi Jianlian - Boston Celtics

Hah! We couldn't have taken the big Chinaman anyway.

8. PF Al Horford - Houston Rockets
9. PF Brandan Wright - Golden State Warriors

Now I'm within movement range, so I send our #12 pick and the Lakers 2008 2nd round pick to Seattle to move up and get the player I've been dreaming of all draft long.

10. PG Mike Conley - New Orleans Hornets

The analysts love the pick and are surprised he's still around. I am too after Law went #5.

11. SF Jeff Green - Orlando Magic
12. PF Jason Smith - Seattle Supersonics
13. PF Joakim Noah - Philadelphia 76ers
14. C Sean Williams - Utah Jazz
15. PG Gabe Pruitt - Milwaukee Bucks

Milwaukee really overreached here. The Bucks did sorely need a PG and they were crushed when Law and Conley went off the board, as they thought sure they could land one or the other. But why Pruitt of all players?

16. PG Javaris Crittenton - Chicago Bulls

This is the guy the Bucks should've taken and who'd we have grabbed if Conley was gone.

17. SG Nick Young - Indiana Pacers
18. SG Rodney Stuckey - Washington Wizards
19. SF Al Thornton - Sacramento Kings
20. PG DaShaun Wood - Denver Nuggets
21. C Stanko Barac - Los Angeles Lakers
22. SF Julian Wright - Los Angeles Clippers
23. C Kyrylo Fesenko - Memphis Grizzlies
24. PF Josh McRoberts - New Jersey Nets
25. SF Thaddeus Young - Cleveland Cavaliers
26. SG Morris Almond - Miami Heat
27. SF Giorgos Printezis - Phoenix Suns
28. PF Tiago Splitter - Dallas Mavericks
29. SF Glen Davis - San Antonio Spurs

An out and out steal by the Spurs to get Davis this late. I applaud their efforts.

30. SG D.J. Strawberry - Detroit Pistons

By the time we pick at 42, most of the guys I was looking are gone, but I can't resist basketball pedigree and I know even though he's a finesse center, Jestor would take him because he's from Spain, so Marc Gasol comes aboard.

Mike Conley fits the requirements for starting PG, so he's immediately handed the starting spot. Even better, after clearing out all our contracts, we've got $4.8 million in cap space with 13 players signed. Looks like the cap won't be a worry after all.

Summer League
PG Mike Conley
SF Marcus Vinicius
PF Cedric Simmons
C Hilton Armstrong
C Andrew Bynum

13 points and 10 assists from rookie Mike Conley and 12 bench points from Andrew Bynum and we've got ourselves a summer-opening win, 86-75 over the 76ers.

Although we lose 96-81 to Indiana a couple nights after, Andrew Bynum comes off the bench for 19 points and 12 rebounds and Jarrius Jackson chips in 12 bench points. You people still want to say I made a mistake in getting Bynum?

Here comes the offense! Led by Gerry McNamara's 20 points, Mike Conley's 15 points and 11 assists and Bracey Wright's 11 bench points, we pound Phoenix 93-71.

95-86's the win over Seattle thanks to the bench: Bracey Wright (13 points) and Andrew Bynum and Jarrius Jackson with 10 points a piece.

Our worst outing of the summer saved for last, a 105-86 humiliation at the hands of the Magic, marring Mike Conley's 19 points and Bracey Wright and Torin Francis's 10 and 11 bench points respectively.

Bracey impressed me so much, I may give him a contract in free agency.

[Izulde]

When Vince Carter is the top free agent, you know there's not much buzz to speak of here. We still need an elite-level scorer too, as Mike Miller and Peja Stojakovic just miss the mark, unless they somehow go up in training camp.

Rashard Lewis hies it back to Seattle, so we just stay quiet in free agency, picking up Seth Chambliss to be our top backup PG and save the rest of the money for later.

That is, until we're able to pull off a trade.

New Orleans Hornets receive
SF Rashard Lewis

Seattle Supersonics receive
SF Peja Stojakovic
C Marc Gasol

What this means for the Hornets
Lewis is a sensational scorer, of the 20+ PPG variety and can rebound pretty well too. He's also 28, making the Hornets younger. He'll slot in at SF and with the new lineup New Orleans has, they could very well make the playoffs after just missing out last year. Don't expect him to stay forever with the Hornets, though. That large deal he just signed is long and ugly.

What this means for the Supersonics
Peja has an even better outside than Lewis's and he's a much smarter player. Outside of that though, Lewis has the edge in all categories, however slight. The younger Gasol's a defensive specialist and quite raw. Taken in the second round by the Hornets in the draft, he'll probably be shipped down to the D-League and won't ever crack an NBA roster.

Winner: New Orleans
The Hornets get younger and better at SF and all it cost them was a 2nd round selection that probably won't ever amount to anything more than filler anyway. This could be the trade that puts New Orleans over the top.

So now we've not only fulfilled all the Jestorian requirements by picking up the scoring superstar, we've 13 players under contract and just created more cap space for ourselves, with $6.3 million under the cap.

If we could just get rid of Tyson Chandler's contract, we'd be all set.

And then we splurge our cap space, having to overpay to bring in 34 year old Chris Webber on a two year capped out deal. But that's okay. It's filling in our weakest spot and making us strong enough to push for the playoffs.

Training Camp

Much to my annoyance, Seth Chambliss appears a worse passer than I thought, so I'm forced to make a trade.

New Orleans Hornets receive
PG Rajon Rondo
Boston Celtics 2010 2nd round pick

Boston Celtics receive
PF Cedric Simmons

What this means for the Hornets
Rondo, 23, is a pass-first PG who has the potential to develop into a starter or a great 6th man. 6th man is the role he'll take on for New Orleans, who have a very suspect bench. That said, in addition to his floor general skills, Rondo could become a premiere defender and between him and 19 year old rookie Mike Conley, the Hornets' future at PG is secure.

What this means for the Celtics
Simmons is raw, but he has potential to develop into a legitimate all-around starting forward. Unfortunately, he's not going to get that opportunity in Boston, where he's stymied by a whole host of other youngsters, including first round pick Yi Jianlian. A puzzling move, given that this means the Celtics will have to rely on Sebastian Telfair as their main reserve PG.

Winner: New Orleans
There's no guarantee Simmons is ever going to cut the bill and this gives more minutes to the more polished Hilton Armstrong and Tyson Chandler, the latter of whom might actually earn some of his obscene contract now. Izulde is making more right moves than not, in standard Jestor fashion.

Funny thing is, I hate to see Simmons go. I think he could've been something special, but the Jestorian philosophy must be adhered to, no matter what the cost.

In a bit of good news, Andrew Bynum showed some good strides in camp and he appears to be the legitimate starter, even though my more experienced assistants want to put Chandler in at C instead.

Nobody thinks we'll be any good, as we're picked to finish 2nd to last in the West in most preseason mags. I think we'll be much better than that. Phoenix are favorites in the West, which I agree with, but the Jazz, Warriors and Rockets over the Lakers is just silly. Knicks, Celtics and Cavaliers are top 3 picks in the East. I'll eat my hat if the Knicks even make the playoffs, let alone a primo seeding.

2007 New Orlean Hornets Opening Night Lineup
PG Mike Conley
SG Mike Miller
SF Rashard Lewis
PF Chris Webber
C Andrew Bynum
6th Rajon Rondo (PG/SG)
7th Tyson Chandler (SF/PF/C)
8th Hilton Armstrong (SF/PF)
9th Bobby Jackson (SG)
10th Rasual Butler (SG/SF)
11th Marcus Vinicius (SF/PF)
12th Seth Chambliss (PG/SG)

Inactive
Sasha Vujacic (PG/SG/SF)
Jannero Pago (PG/SG)

[BYU 14]

Good to see the apple does not fall far from the Jestorian tree....You have a strong starting 5, but you will need it in your division. I am setting the over under for trades the rest of this season at 4, any takers

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by BYU 14

Good to see the apple does not fall far from the Jestorian tree....You have a strong starting 5, but you will need it in your division. I am setting the over under for trades the rest of this season at 4, any takers

Thanks.

My bench is pretty bad, but I'm stuck with it and Tyson Chandler's moronic contract for a while, I think.

[Izulde]

Excitement's high on November 1st as we open the season with a home game against Dallas. I tell the assistants they're in charge of all the tactical stuff and running things. We steal a 120-115 win over the Mavericks in my debut. Rashard Lewis busts out for 26 points in his first game in the deal, Mike Conley looks great in his first-ever pro game with 15 points and 11 assists and Tyson Chandler rockets off the bench for 17 points.

A back-to-back starts off beautifully as we wallop the Magic 104-87 in front of an enthused home crowd. Mike Miller erupts for 26 points, Tyson Chandler hauls in 10 points and 11 boards off the bench and Hilton Armstrong and Bobby Jackson drop in 14 and 11 points respectively as the second team really comes alive. Then Kevin Garnett ravages us for 24 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists, ending our perfect streak as the Timberwolves clamp down 97-77. Rajon Rondo scores 12 points off the bench for our only highlight.

Kobe Bryant rips us for 36 points and Chris Paul fires off 27 points against his former team, but the home crowd carries us to a 98-86 victory. That and Rashard Lewis's 32 points, Chris Webber's 24 points and Tyson Chandler's 11 bench boards.

A fourth quarter rally's needed to beat the Hawks 98-92 on the front end of a doubleheader. Mike Conley missed the game after spraining his ankle in warmups and the Jestorian philosophy came through in a big way, as Rajon Rondo doubled for 10 points and 12 assists as the starting PG. Mike Miller and Rashard Lewis combined for 26 and 23 points to provide the main thrust of our offense. My assistants overrule my plan to start Rajon Rondo at the point next night and go with Bobby Jackson. Although that raises my ire, we hand the Bucks their first loss of the season, 94-83 in Milwaukee as Mike Miller and Rashard Lewis score 23 and 24 points respectively.

Mike Conley comes back for the next game and we embarass and stun the Suns 112-87. Phoenix has no answer for Rashard Lewis's 27 points and 11 rebounds, Mike Miller's 25 points or Mike Conley's 14 points and 11 assists.

We go hunting for revenge against the Timberwolves and get it, riding 21 points a piece from Mike Miller and Andrew Bynum and Mike Conley's 12 points and 10 assists to whip Minnesota 110-82.

A road back to back kills our hot form, the Jazz beating us 102-92 despite Mike Miller's 21 points and Tyson Chandler's 10 bench points. Terrible shooting dooms us in a 102-85 loss the next night in Oakland as only Mike Miller (34 points), Rashard Lewis (22 points) and Tyson Chandler (10 bench boards) came prepared to play.

Things go from bad to worse as the Suns slaughter us 103-74 in Phoenix, ruining Rashard Lewis's 21 points and Tyson Chandler's 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench. If it wasn't for the owner-mandated 60 day free agent rule, I'd have traded Chris Webber by now. He's been a huge disappointment.

Three road games down, two more to go and in back-to-back form. Tyson Chandler gets the start at PF against the Lakers and turns in an 0 for 6 night. 114-78 beatdown by the Purple and Gold as Rashard Lewis's 27 points can't carry us. As if that wasn't bad enough, Mike Miller gets a concussion, taking away one of our two most potent guns. And that loss of offense makes all the difference in a nauseating 109-103 OT loss in Denver. 0-5 on the road trip. Rashard Lewis did his damndest out of the SG spot with 39 points and our bench was heroic as well: Chris Webber with 17 points, Rajon Rondo with 15 points and Mike Miller battling his concussion for 10 points, but it just wasn't enough.

Chris Webber gets his starting spot back and posts 17 points and 11 rebounds, Rashard Lewis explodes for 29 points and Rajon Rondo and Tyson Chandler come off the bench for 10 points and 12 rebounds respectively, but we suffer our 6th straight loss as a result of a 37-25 4th quarter meltdown and fall 105-102 to the Kings.

From 7-1 and one of the Southwest's top teams to 7-7 and fourth place, four games back of the 12-4 Rockets and Spurs and just 2 games ahead of the 6-10 Grizzlies. From one of the top seeds to part of the scrum for a low playoff spot.

Granted, it's only the first month of the year, but it's still frustrating to go from Hot to Not all at once.

Changes are in order.

[Autumn]

Hmm, my comment done got ate. Anyway, this will be fun. It will make for an interesting to challenge to see how you can do being shackled to these rules. Good luck.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Autumn

Hmm, my comment done got ate. Anyway, this will be fun. It will make for an interesting to challenge to see how you can do being shackled to these rules. Good luck.

Indeed. I think it's going to provide a fun challenge and make it a lot less easy to build a powerhouse.

[Izulde]

No trades during the first month. No trades, that is, until I pull a move to address our weakness at PF.

New Orleans Hornets receive
PF Tiago Splitter

Dallas Mavericks receive
SF Marcus Vinicius
Los Angeles Lakers 2009 2nd round pick
Boston Celtics 2010 2nd round pick

What this means for the Hornets
New Orleans has had a revolving door at PF and GM Izulde believes the rookie Splitter can solve the problem. A rangy 6'11, 239 lb 22 year old, Splitter was taken 28th overall and has showed good shooting touch through his first 16 games. Good potential rebounder, very smart player and a hard-nosed defender with lockdown type ceiling. He'll be given a shot at the starting spot.

What this means for the Mavericks
There's just not much to Vinicius. He's raw and won't ever amount to anything more than a bench player. Dallas fans should be leery that the Mavericks are planning on starting him at PF, because that could deepsix their season.

Winner: New Orleans
Splitter is definitely better in this swap of Brazilians and the two second round picks aren't enough to make up the difference, especially not with the potential direction this sends the two franchises' seasons.

Tiago Splitter has a terrible debut, goose-egging it, but that turns out not to matter as Rashard Lewis hammers the Pistons for 43 points, Mike Miller scores 26, Chris Webber adds in 10 points off the bench and we finally snap the cold streak with a heartwarming 102-83 victory.

Huge divisional 97-91 divisional win in Houston on the front end of a doubleheader. Rashard Lewis and Mike Conley combine for 21 and 20 points respectively and Hilton Armstrong leads the reserves with 10 points. We come home to sweep the Knicks 99-78 the next night on Mike Miller's 22 points and stellar showings from benchmen Chris Webber (19 points) and Rajon Rondo (12 points).

We turn on the afterburners in the 4th quarter, rocketing past Vince Carter's 36 points to nip the Nets 103-98 in New Jersey. Rashard Lewis and Mike Miller serve as our 1-2 punch as they have so many times this young season, scoring 27 and 26 points.

Another road game and our most complete victory of the year, a 114-80 smashing of the Wizards. 7 Hornets in double-digit scoring, headlined by Mike Miller's 21 points, Andrew Bynum's 11 points and 12 rebounds and Mike Conley's 10 points and 11 assists. Chris Webber highlights the second team with 14 points, Rajon Rondo chips in 10 points and Tyson Chandler pulls down 14 rebounds.

No fear for away games any longer as we beat the Bobcats 106-85 in the first game of a back-to-back. Rashard Lewis scores 24, Mike Miller's second with 20 points and Andrew Bynum throws down an 11 point, 13 rebound double-double. Chris Webber and Tyson Chandler pace the bench with 12 points and 14 points, 14 rebounds respectively. It's ugly, but defense allows us to grind out the sweep at home, 86-67 over Golden State. Rashard Lewis provides the offense with 22 points and Tyson Chandler just misses a second straight bench double-double with 8 points and 14 rebounds, his third straight game with 14 boards.

We shock the Spurs 96-84 on Rashard Lewis's 31 points, Rajon Rondo's layup-short of double-double 8 points and 11 assists off the bench, Chris Webber's 10 points and Tyson Chandler's 12 rebounds. Then again, Tim Duncan is out with a broken hand and any time you lose an MVP calibre player like that, you're going to feel it.

Our first loss of the month and first defeat since the Tiago Splitter trade comes at the hands of the Kings, 107-94. 20 points from Mike Miller, 13 points and 11 assists from Mike Conley and Rajon Rondo's 14 bench points can't match Kevin Martin's 30 points and Mike Bibby's 25 points and 10 assists.

We stay on the road in California, going from Sacramento south to Los Angeles to take on the Clippers and Lakers on consecutive nights. The Clippers beat us 95-93 in a heartbreaker, spoiling Rashard Lewis's 30 points, Andrew Bynum's 11 points and 12 rebounds and Chris Webber's 12 bench points and Tyson Chandler's 11 bench boards. Tiago Splitter played just 12 minutes before fouling out and didn't score a point - a big reason for our loss. Making matters worse, Rashard Lewis bangs his head for a concussion during the game. Unsurprisingly, the Lakers rally in the second half to beat us 86-82 as Mike Miller's 20 points and Chris Webber's 17 bench points can't save us. We're on the downswing now, with 3 straight losses after a hot start. Hello deja vu. Seems like I've seen you around here before.

Yet -another- road doubleheader and our second straight 86-82 loss, fourth consecutive overall, this time in Cleveland. Rashard Lewis steps up with 23 points and Tyson Chandler and Chris Webber score 13 and 10 off the bench respectively, but Andrew Bynum plays only 17 minutes before fouling out. The carnival of horrors continues as our fourth quarter rally falls just short and we lose 87-86 to the Pacers. This time the Rashard Lewis (21 points) and Mike Miller (23 points) show can't save us, not even with support from Chris Webber (14 points) and Tyson Chandler (14 rebounds).

What a way to ruin Christmas for our fans as those games were on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

Home sweet home we go, snapping the 5 game losing streak with a 102-97 win over the Suns. Rashard Lewis and Mike Miller lead the charge with 25 and 21 points and Chris Webber (10 points) and Tyson Chandler (15 points, 9 rebounds) handle things off the bench.

So as the new calendar year approaches, we're 16-12, 6 games behind Southwest leaders Houston, who are 23-7. The Spurs haven't been affected too badly by Tim Duncan's broken hand, only a game and a half out, the same margin we hold over the 15-14 Mavericks for third place. We'd also be a 5 or 6 seed if the playoffs were held today, so things have definitely improved.

Denver's 16-13 to head up the Northwest, a game and a half in front of Utah and Seattle, while the 22-7 Suns are 5.5 ahead of the Clippers.

18-10 gives Detroit the tenative East lead, as well as the Central crown by 1.5 games over the Bulls and Cavaliers. 19-12 Toronto paces the Atlantic by 2.5 over the surprisingly 16-14 Knicks and 14-18, 12-16, 12-16 are the tied top 3 teams in the Southeast in Miami, Atlanta and Washington. Talk about an ugly division!

Still way too early yet to say for sure who and what's going to happen the rest of the year, but we should be able to stay in the mid-seed playoff range or even higher if we can develop actual consistency.

And we've got freedom now, as it's been 60 days since the start of the season. But do I want to trade Chris Webber when he's been so valuable off the bench for us?

[Autumn]

How did Splitter do for you stat-wise? I see nary a mention of him in the write-ups. Is he tanking or the quiet guy holding down the lineup?

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by Autumn

How did Splitter do for you stat-wise? I see nary a mention of him in the write-ups. Is he tanking or the quiet guy holding down the lineup?

He hasn't been exceptional or even good to be honest (high of 15 points, five 10+ point games in 14, no double-digit rebounding showings) and there's nothing in the stats to say we play better with him starting at PF as opposed to Chris Webber, but my gut says we do and I think he'll only get better the more starts he gets and be a neutralizing force down low.